Google Is About To Let You Have Your iOS App Content Indexed

If you have an iOS app, you'll soon be able to start seeing its content appear in Google search results on iOS devices just like web content.

Google has been doing the app indexing thing for quite some time at this point, but it's slowly been expanding the capabilities and giving developers and app owners more to take advantage of.

Earlier this year, Google announced that it would use app indexing as a ranking signal for search results on Android, and later announced that it was starting the app indexing process on iOS. That was limited. Now, they're opening things up to any iOS app developer.

Last week, Google revealed that it was adding a new ranking factor for apps that use the App Indexing API. They also posted new documentation for iOS app content (h/t: Search Engine Roundtable). The company has since acknowledged this in a Google+ update.

"Getting your app content found on Google just got easier," the company says. "App Indexing is now compatible with HTTP deep link standards for iOS 9, as it has been on Android from the beginning. That means that you can start getting your app content into the Search results page on Safari in iOS, simply by adding Universal Links to your iOS app, then integrating with our SDK. With this improvement, we will no longer support new integrations on iOS 7 and iOS 8. Users will start seeing your app content in Safari on iOS at the end of October."

"And, of course, on Android, you can still get your content into the Search results page, autocompletions, and Now on Tap by adding HTTP deep links and integrating with the App Indexing API," it added.

Google Now On Tap recently began its initial roll-out on certain devices. The feature should present some new opportunities for businesses to gain more visibility from their app indexing efforts.